Become a TechRadar Insider
As superheroes go, it’s hard to look beyond the unmistakable, Chiropteran-shaped searchlight that has dominated the troubled skylines of Batman’s adventures since he first swooped into view. No disrespect to The Scarlet Pimpernel, Tarzan, and Buck Rogers, who all emerged in the years before Bruce Wayne’s crime-fighting alter-ego debuted in March 1939’s 27th edition of Detective Comics, but Batman endures as a singular entertainment icon, scaling every pop culture medium in sight across 10 decades.
That much is quickly made apparent in Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, as you tear around a gloomy but vividly alive Gotham City at the wheel of one of the robustly rendered and explosively powered Batmobiles that bring skin-stretching velocity to the base playground. This legend has been rebuilt Lego brick by Lego brick in captivating Gothic style by TT Games, who have an authentic hand in the legacy of the franchise, having first collaborated with DC Comics for 2008’s Lego Batman: The Videogame.
It's scrawled on the neon graffiti walls of an atmospheric and evocative landscape, stitched into the meticulous costumes of a familiar library of heroes and villains and powers, the multitude of meme-worthy lines driving the dialogue, as The Caped Crusader seeks to impose justice on the gaggle of unhinged madcaps, mavericks, and misanthropes that populate an engrossing backdrop.
Leaping from the car in an early mission, he’s greeted on the steps of City Hall by The Gotham Globe’s Vicki Vale, looking for a quote to run on the newspaper’s front page. “I’m Batman,” he deadpans. Pithy perhaps, but fittingly so. Because TT Games has made this dynamic transformation, which snugly zips players into the triple-weave Kevlar, Nomex, and carbon fiber composite suit of its eponymous hero – plus 99 other wearable outfits – a defining principle in their reimagining of another titanic, fantastical series, following 2022’s Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
A knight’s tale
From the opening phase of the game, where a young Bruce Wayne disappears into a well in the grounds of Wayne Manor – a plot device featured in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and adapted from the comic book The Man Who Falls – familiar set-pieces and cult deep cuts are spliced seamlessly into the narrative to facilitate the immersion. This formula is outlined by TT Games’ Executive Producer Matt Ellison, who has worked for the UK-based studio for almost 20 years and played a role in every superhero title to date.
“Most things in the game have taken inspiration from somewhere,” Ellison tells us, explaining that the overarching, original storyline was developed in close collaboration with DC Comics. “At the start, the sequences in Nanda Parbat are from the beginning of the Nolan films. Developing the player's skills, learning how to control Batman, and being Batman fitted very nicely with the training he went through, so that's something that gelled together.
“It's similar to the way we worked out where in the timeline we could take inspiration from. But they’re not direct references. We haven't restricted ourselves in that way, which allows us to jump around if we think something works, fits within the story, and makes sense.” This approach is more about including arch and timely references to the backstory and lore, rather than replicating key narrative triggers? “Exactly,” says Ellison.
“We wanted to make a new and unique story, where fans will recognize moments throughout as they're playing. But if this is someone's first experience with Batman and they don't know anything about a certain character, they'll learn about them, and it will make sense,” he continues. “DC have described it as a remix of Batman's greatest hits. That's a good way to put it, as it unfurls across the story.”
An absolute clown
The initial character arc of Batman’s archenemy, The Joker – perhaps entertainment’s ultimate dastard – reflects this storytelling logic. In Lego’s inimitable style, his journey from near death after falling into a vat of toxins at Ace Chemicals as Red Hood One is loosely depicted, leading onto the comically malevolent clowning of Jack Nicholson’s vision, before Heath Ledger’s sociopathic incarnation enters the story with one of the franchise’s many memorable lines: “What doesn’t kill you, simply makes you stranger.”
Though widely – and correctly – celebrated, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga gave players the opportunity to jump into all nine films from the seminal sci-fi series, presenting much of the material in a suitably off-key and slapstick but rather rigid, note-for-note remake of the movies first made by George Lucas. Here, TT Games provides the canvas and agency to dictate the compelling carnage afforded by this combination of enveloping storylines and destructive settings.
“That was more of a direct retelling,” he says of The Skywalker Saga. “That isn't what we're doing here. We're putting twists on things. We might have different characters in a certain situation. For example, we decided to put Catwoman into the scenes in the Flugelheim Museum to change things up,” explains Ellison of a landmark passage that – in this iteration – pays close and charming homage to Tim Burton’s 1989 movie, complete with the original Prince soundtrack.
Reflecting on his time at the studio, Ellison continues: “We remember what we've done before and don't want to forget that. But we’re looking to push things forward as much as possible and see what we can do differently compared to previous games. Here, it was about focusing on Batman and making the player feel like they are Batman. That’s what has driven us to look at the combat, how that feels, and the dynamic attacks and stealth options.”
Grand Theft Arkham
This is an important point and one that has led some to call this game a rightful heir to the much-loved Arkham series produced by Rocksteady, which seemingly concluded in 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight. It’s recently been reported that more than 20 developers from the company, which, like TT Games, is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games, worked on the new title. “It's definitely something we’ve taken inspiration from,” comments Ellison.
“We do have a slightly different audience, so we have to adapt things and make sure it fits for us. The combat is more accessible. The takedowns aren't as brutal. We add more comic moments, like hitting people with frying pans. But that overall feeling, making the character feel powerful, and the free-flowing combat is something we did want to push for.”
In fact, the vibrant open world environment provides a backdrop for a manic experience that, in its sandbox-style, also feels roughly akin to another seminal franchise. Swap New York for Gotham, parachute Batman in to replace a similarly moody and stern-looking Niko Bellic, and this could be Grand Theft Auto IV’s Liberty City. Albeit a 12A version where the most disturbing scenes feature Batman’s underpants, his rather cringe-worthy feline frisson with Catwoman, and Shai Matheson’s gruff voice acting, as he seeks to replicate Christian Bale’s subhuman growl.
Like the incarnation produced by Rockstar Games in 2008, players can race across four interconnected, Manhattan-style islands, take part in supercharged speed trials, and propel a variety of vehicles into the sky via handily placed ramps dotted across the impressively vast map. Ellison is keen to highlight the fundamental role played by the seamless range of transportation methods, which give this teeming metropolis genuine 3D physicality.
Paint it black
“We want to ensure we're making strides and improving what we've done previously, so it feels cool and fun when you're in the Batmobile navigating Gotham City. We've also added traversal mechanics, so you can grapple above the rooftops and glide across the city, which is beyond what we've been able to do previously,” he says.
TT Games has deployed a few other technical tricks to capture the grey dank of Gotham, a location shrouded by perma-drizzle, where the sun shines only briefly as Bruce Wayne departs his schooling with the League of Shadows in the Himalayas. As the fabled destination looms into view from the window of his private jet, dark clouds merge, color is drained from the horizon, and a bright jaunty soundtrack is hijacked by tweenage goth-metal skree.
“That is something we're conscious of,” confirms Ellison. “We wanted to make sure the story we're telling has emotional weight and for it to feel like a proper story that fans of Batman or anyone who wants to experience a new narrative story will enjoy. But this is still a Lego game, so it needs to be appropriate for all ages. Batman has some very dark themes running through it, and we're able to put a twist on those and change what people are expecting, injecting humor into the dark moments.”
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with a Nintendo Switch 2 version coming later this year.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
➡️ Read our full guide to the best gaming consoles
1. Best overall:
PlayStation 5 Slim
2. Best budget:
Xbox Series S
3. Best handheld:
Nintendo Switch 2
4. Most powerful:
PlayStation 5 Pro